State Pension Costs

Harry_Powell

I'm not complaining, I think we have it much better than previous generations. We have websites such as this one to help us save money, loads of other websites to help us invest our saved money and bank/investment websites to help us keep track of savings and investments. Ordinary people have never had such access to financial information ever before and have never had such control of their financial futures as they have now.

We've never had it so good, so stop 'king moaning and get on with it!!

Sapphire

Harry_Powell wrote: »

I'm not complaining, I think we have it much better than previous generations. We have websites such as this one to help us save money, loads of other websites to help us invest our saved money and bank/investment websites to help us keep track of savings and investments. Ordinary people have never had such access to financial information ever before and have never had such control of their financial futures as they have now.

We've never had it so good, so stop 'king moaning and get on with it!!

Also realize that although money helps, it sure isn't everything. People seem to have lost the ability to get pleasure out of so many things that cost little or nothing.

There's just this drive to accumulate more and more superficial rubbish, fueled by advertising, bankers, the 'government' and other profiteers (while wasting the world's natural resources to a massive degree).

treliac

Sapphire wrote: »

There's just this drive to accumulate more and more superficial rubbish, fueled by advertising, bankers, the 'government' and other profiteers (while wasting the world's natural resources to a massive degree).

What'll it take to reverse this d'you think?

bluey890

treliac wrote: »

What'll it take to reverse this d'you think?

An increase in VAT, a bin tax and more environmental programs on the beeb.
I don't think the above will be particularly popular though.

baileysbattlebus

Sapphire wrote: »

I think you are talking about the Middle Ages here. Are you a time traveller?

No - he's a Monty Python fan

Bits from the four Yorkshiremen -

"I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof."

"House! You were lucky to live in a house! We used to live in one room, all twenty-six of us, no furniture, 'alf the floor was missing, and we were all 'uddled together in one corner for fear of falling"

"Eh, you were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in t' corridor"

"Oh, we used to dream of livin' in a corridor! Would ha' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House? Huh"

"Well, when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us"

"We were evicted from our 'ole in the ground; we 'ad to go and live in a lake"

"You were lucky to have a lake! There were a hundred and fifty of us living in t' shoebox in t' middle o' road."

"Cardboard box ?"

"Aye"

"You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank..........."

I'm a pretty big fan myself.

Sapphire

treliac wrote: »

What'll it take to reverse this d'you think?

A period of severe hardship, perhaps, which would make people appreciate what they do have, and how important all generations of their family are. It might bring people together and perhaps make them less selfish, and remove the 'me first' syndrome.

Although we are all so much wealthier in the Western world than we have ever been, I can't help thinking that we are living in a somewhat decadent society (I mean, really, worshipping vacuous celebrities?). It's quite possible that our civilization is heading for a big fall, as happened to civilizations before ours.

The economies of the West cannot constantly grow (nor can house prices)...

JoolzS

kennyboy66 wrote: »

I thought that as you will be 66 in 2033 and you partner will be 66 in 2027 you will both retire at 66

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/state-pension/age-calculator.asp

Thanks for that. I clicked on the link thinking that I'd prove you wrong, and you have proven me wrong. I can only think that the calculator has been changed in the past couple of years. Maybe the government is now winding it backwards? I have definitely checked it more than once in the past couple of years (just normal MSE stuff) and it always came out at age 67 for both of us. I've no doubt that in a few years it'll come out at 72 .

Julie

[Deleted User]

bumpoowee wrote: »

Oh yes I am only too aware that 30 years ago you all had rocks for breakfast and sticks for dinner, walked 3 miles in the snow every day QUOTE]

yes that is true. I am an early baby boomer and we had to make a pigs head do for two days for 9 people but we did have potatoes with that. We did walk to school in deep snow in our one pair of year round shoes and yes my feet were blue with cold all through the winter. We were ok though as we got bags of clothing to root through from kind people and we weren`t ashamed to wear them

I worked in a shop at the age of 15 while at school and that carried on while I was doing A levels. 3 nights til 10 and one whole day at the weekend and later in life we saved and saved because we knew what it was to be truly poor. We didn`t have foreign holidays, we went camping instead and that was our life pattern, frugal but very happy, knowing that we could count on ourselves

We were lucky of course in that we could walk into any job and we did so. we worked very very hard, all the time scrimping and scraping by, no handouts EVER and a full lifetime of nat insurance contributions etc, never ever freeloading from anyone else

We DESERVE our state pensions and we EARNED them. What are you doing towards building your own safety net? Apart from having a pop.

The generation that you really do have to be concerned about is that part of the younger generation that are workshy, alco swigging, selfish, benefit experts. Pity help the workers who have to support them and their offspring in the future